Need Info on Carle in Champaign-Urbana - Please help is possible.

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THANKS for any help!

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Thanks :p

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

kiki,

I really don't have any current info on Carle. I grew up in rural IL and it was not uncommon for people from my area to be transferred to Carle for specialty care. For the most part, they seemed to be well cared for, but that was 20+ years ago, and I don't know what the hospital is like currently. I would imagine that it has merged with or been taken over by some healthcare system by now, and that can have a tremendous effect on quality of care and employment issues.

Champaign is a fun city, especially for young people. Good concerts and Big 10 sports are a plus, also a lower cost of living than the Chicago area. Wages will be lower too, though.

Good luck!

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I worked at Carle 20 years ago in the dietary dept so I really don't have info on it currently or in the nursing area. Scooping beans on trays back then wasn't a fun job, but I remember being treated very well there. I would hope they would treat their nurses as well. Champaign-Urbana has great schools and access to the UNiversity. There are a lot of oppotunities to see cultural or athletic events -- also due to the UNiversity. They do have pretty high real estate tax rates but the housing costs are much more reasonable than where I live in the boston area.

Carle has a very good reputation in the region. It is where a lot of complex cases are sent. Hope someone who works there gives you the scoop on salary and atmosphere. Good Luck!

Hi all,

I am thinking of moving to IL - chicago or champaign. I have gotten some good info re chicago on this site, but there isn't much on champaign. If anyone can provide info on champaign - particularly Carle Hospital that would be great! Thanks :)

? Salary for a new grad

? Differentials

? If you work at Carle, what do you think of it (PMs welcome also)

? Cost of living in Champaign-Urbana (I checked online, but was told by a classmate who used to live in IL that the estimates were way off)

THANKS for any help!

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I'm currently attending school at the U of I in C-U, work as a CNA @ Carle, and have accepted a job there after graduation. The salary for new grads is, at this point in time, $18.48. The nurse recruiter told me that it will go up before orientation starts in June because they're adjusting for cost of living. Shift differential is $2.00 plus a shift bonus yearly. Weekend diff is $1.25. Sign on is $2500 for every year you agree to work there up to three years and another $1300 for BSN grads. I personally love working at Carle. They're attempting to achieve Magnet Status right now so they really focus on nursing and shared governance which I love. Carle also has a good reputation in the community. I can't speak of other area hospitals because I've only had one clinical outside of Carle. The cost of living in C-U is very reasonable as long as you don't live on campus. I hope this helped!

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Thanks ILLINo1S!

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Look at the Chicago Reader for rental listings. You can find them online. Champaign costs a lot less, but chicago is a great city. You won't need a car in Chicago, but you would in Champaign. The neighborhoods I lived in while I was there were Wrigleyville, Ukranian Village, Wicker Park and Bucktown. They were all reasonably priced 10 years ago, near public transportation and relatively safe. They were also getting trendy, so they may be more expensive now. What hospitals are you looking at? That would make a difference as to where you would want to live. I think Chicago has an additional sales tax. Good Luck!

Thanks ILLINo1S!

Does anyone know how much less cost of living in C-U is versus Chicago. I've looked at the online calculators, but they don't help me much.

For example, how much more $ do you think you would need to make a month to live in Chicago the same way you would live in C-U (in a decent neighborhood - not fancy, but not where you can't go for a walk outside alone)? Thanks!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I work in Peoria at the level one trauma center and we get referrals from that area frequently - their patients seem well cared for and the nurses I've taken report from are intelligent and seem happy. The starting wage is good actually for central IL. Our new grads start at $17.30. In Peoria, that starting wage would be enough to live on and have some left over. Good luck. Central IL is a LOT better than Chicago, but I don't like big cities.

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Thank you.

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Thanks

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Rush and UIC are right near eachother. I have read very great things about Rush, especially if you are planning to go to grad school. I have been a patient at UIC before and found it to be a great place. A good place to live that will give you a reasonable train commute to either is Oak Park. It is a "safe suburb" that has nice parks, shopping and convenient to downtown. The ride to town via El train goes through some dicey areas, so I don't think it would be great if you work nights, but the drive in at night would be easy anyway -- straight down the expressway. The neighborhood immediately surronding those hospitals is an old Italian neighborhood (I want to call it Little Italy but I am not sure of that since I have been gone so long). There are some housing projects plopped down in there. I really don't know what condition it is in these days, but I had no problem walking around there during the day. A neighborhood south of it is Pilsen. It used to be a mostly HIspanic neighborhood (excellent Mexican food) then artists moved in, and when I left, the yuppies were discovering it. Might be worth checking out.

Loyola is out in Maywood, a near west suburb tht Oak Park would also be a good place to live. You could also venture to suburbs further west from there.

U Chicago is in Hyde Park, a south side neighborhood that is kind of an island in that it is a beautiful campus/neighborhood on the lakefront. THe neighborhoods surrounding it tended to not be so nice, but a lot of gentrification was going on since I left on the near south side so it may not be so bad these days. Even the Mayor moved to a near south side neighborhood. Hyde Park is just a bit further south. You will be living in a "student" area, but there are a lot of others there too.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the response fotografe. Hospitals I'm considering are Loyola, Rush, UIC, U Chicago. I've heard to decide before getting a place to live b/c of potentially horrible commute times. As much as I love cities, I generally like living outside of downtown - I like neighborhoods with trees, where people actually walk around outside, no kids so school districts aren't really a factor, I don't need to live in the most hip place but don't want to be the only person under 35 either. Any ideas of places to check out would be appreciated.

Also if you are anyone else has thoughts about these hospitals such as how pro-nursing they are, which have the best orientations (for critical care or ED). and anything else, please post of PM me. Thank you.

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Specializes in OB, Cardiac.
I'm currently attending school at the U of I in C-U, work as a CNA @ Carle, and have accepted a job there after graduation. The salary for new grads is, at this point in time, $18.48. The nurse recruiter told me that it will go up before orientation starts in June because they're adjusting for cost of living. Shift differential is $2.00 plus a shift bonus yearly. Weekend diff is $1.25. Sign on is $2500 for every year you agree to work there up to three years and another $1300 for BSN grads. I personally love working at Carle. They're attempting to achieve Magnet Status right now so they really focus on nursing and shared governance which I love. Carle also has a good reputation in the community. I can't speak of other area hospitals because I've only had one clinical outside of Carle. The cost of living in C-U is very reasonable as long as you don't live on campus. I hope this helped!

Hey ILLINo1S (bear w/ me, I'm going to question you to death),

I'm a soph @ uiuc & am applying for the nursing program on campus. I was wondering how you liked the program? Any advice to prep for it? Also, how do you like being a nurse so far @ Carle? My husband & I were planning on moving back up to Chicago to be w/ our family but we're really beginning to love the idea of living in Mahomet & working @ Carle for plenty of reasons. I've heard nothing but good things about it. How's their orientation program? Also, did you ever find out what the starting salary for new BSN grads changed to & what's the avg. salary of a nurse who's been working there a few yrs??? One LAST Q, do they have daycare there? Thanks so much for your help. I hope all is going well w/ your new career!!! GO ILLINI!!!!----CLK

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